Heartstopper: Hungarian retailer selling graphic novel fined under LGBT law

Hungarian authorities have fined a bookseller for selling a British graphic novel without closed wrapping - saying it breached a controversial law on LGBT literature for under-18s.

The Lira Kiskereskedelmi Kft retailer was fined 12m forints (£27,400), for selling Heartstopper without wrapping it in plastic foil, as required by law.

Officials said the book depicts homosexuality and was sold to minors.

The love story, about two teenage boys, has been made into a Netflix series.

The fine was issued by the Budapest metropolitan government office, which told the state news agency MTI that it conducted an investigation into the bookshop for selling the title, and others that portray plotlines involving homosexuality.

"The probe stated that the books in question depict homosexuality and despite this, they were placed among literature aimed for minors," it said.

In 2021, the government of prime minister Viktor Orban - who says he is defending the country's Christian values - introduced a law banning the "display and promotion of homosexuality" among under-18s.

The laws says that minors cannot be shown pornographic content, or anything that encourages gender change or homosexuality.

The new legislation faced fierce criticism, including from the European Parliament, which said it breached "EU values, principles and law". The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called the law "a disgrace".

Hungary's LGBT community also criticised the legislation when it was introduced, saying it would curb free speech and children's rights.

The government says the law is part of an effort to protect the country's Christian culture.

The Heartstopper series of books, written and illustrated by the British author Alice Oseman, follow the lives of two British teenagers attending a fictional school who meet and fall in love. It is billed as a book about "life, love, and everything that happens in between".

It has since been acquired and adapted by the streaming service Netflix, which plans to release a second series in August.

The BBC has contacted Lira Kiskereskedelmi Kft bookstore and Ms Oseman's publisher for comment.